Chicago Nurse's Explosive TikTok Comments Spark Healthcare Ethics Debate
A nurse from Chicago has ignited a fierce controversy after appearing to suggest in a now-deleted TikTok video that patients who work for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) could be left to "bleed out" from leg wounds. The incendiary remarks have raised serious questions about medical ethics and political bias within the healthcare profession.
Graphic Description of Potential Harm
Chad Malinowski, a 38-year-old healthcare professional, described in disturbing detail how quickly someone could die from a femoral artery injury in the leg. "The vasculature in the leg, it really bleeds, bleeds well," Malinowski stated in the video. "Someone could bleed out very quickly from that. Probably like a couple of minutes, really."
The nurse made these comments while discussing what he called "how much power nurses have in this country," claiming his remarks came in response to "one of our own was just murdered." He was referring to the fatal shooting of ICU nurse Alex Pretti, aged 37, by federal officers in Minneapolis on January 24th.
Call for Political Purges in Healthcare
Malinowski didn't stop at his comments about potential patient harm. He went further to demand that healthcare organizations terminate employees with conservative political affiliations. "I would really suggest to all the healthcare organizations out there that if you have knowingly MAGA employees, that you terminate them," he declared.
He added with concerning certainty: "They're not safe people to take care of other people." In subsequent remarks, Malinowski blasted right-wing supporters as racists and repeated his call for their dismissal from medical roles.
"If you're openly MAGA at this point, and you're supporting the murdering of people, you don't deserve to be in health care," Malinowski asserted. "You deserve to have your license removed. It's so disappointing."Aftermath and Employer Response
In the videos, Malinowski identified himself as a cardiac ICU nurse. Hours after posting the controversial content, he claimed to have "become the victim of a coordinated attack between bots and MAGAs" and announced he would be "going into hiding for a few days or more."
He emotionally defended himself, saying his words had been "twisted" while maintaining he was a "good person" who worked "really hard" to care for all patients. Malinowski later appeared to imply he had been fired in a follow-up video, though he provided no specific details about his employment status.
A public LinkedIn profile listed Malinowski as a family nurse practitioner at Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana, Illinois, approximately 130 miles south of Chicago. The profile indicated he began working there in December 2019 after holding various healthcare positions around the state.
However, the hospital issued a clear statement on Monday via social media platform X, distancing themselves from the former employee. "We are aware of comments made by a former employee," the hospital wrote. "This individual has no affiliation with Carle Health and has not worked at the health system in over three years."
The hospital added that they remain "committed to creating a safe and inclusive environment for all members of the community to receive care."
Broader Pattern of Healthcare Controversies
Malinowski's incendiary clips emerged shortly after another nurse faced professional consequences for posting anti-ICE content on TikTok. Malinda Rose Cook posted multiple videos encouraging medical professionals and protesters to inject ICE agents with muscle relaxants and spray them with poison ivy water.
Cook was initially suspended by Virginia Commonwealth University Health before being terminated and reported to local law enforcement. In her videos, she urged medical providers to fill syringes with saline or succinylcholine—a powerful anesthetic that paralyzes every muscle in the body, including those needed for breathing.
She described this method as a "sabotage tactic, or at least scare tactic" against ICE agents. Cook also advised protesters to gather poison ivy, soak it in water, and use water guns to target agents' faces and hands.
These incidents collectively highlight growing concerns about political polarization infiltrating healthcare settings and the ethical responsibilities of medical professionals toward all patients regardless of personal beliefs or affiliations.
